Let's Move Blog

Posted by Jenilee McComb, Provo School Food Service Director on June 24, 2013

The Provo, Utah, school meals team has a theme every year and builds their menus and activities around it. This year’s theme is “Nourishing Your Child’s Future.”
Our school district has been serving fresh fruit and vegetables for years, so adjusting to the new guidelines was easy. Cooking more from scratch meant more labor, but it’s worth it to get healthier food served to the kids. I also buy fresh, local produce and while insisting on fresh produce can mean more effort, higher costs, and more labor in preparation, the rewards far outweigh the work.
It can be a hunt but it’s worth it. In fact, sourcing fruits and vegetables from within Utah is a priority. There’s nothing better than that fresh squash from a local farm or that ripe Utah peach or apple fresh off the tree straight to your cafeteria.

Posted by Stormy Brandt, Food Service Manager at USD 384 Blue Valley on June 21, 2013

Most of us have heard the phrase, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Camera phones, YouTube, and dozens of photo-related apps would seem to support this adage, and I happen to agree as well. That's why I combine nutrition expertise and technology to teach K – 12 students about nutrition and the new school meals.

Posted by Kasie Coccaro, Associate Director of Online Outreach and Operations for the White House Office of Digital Strategy on June 20, 2013

Some of America’s most creative junior chefs put their talents to the test and whipped up over 1,300 delicious lunchtime recipes as part of the second annual Healthy Lunchtime Challenge. The competition was steep, but a panel of judges selected one winning recipe from each U.S. state and three of the U.S. territories.

Ed Note: This is a cross post from the blog of whitehouse.gov. You can find the original post here.
Leslie Bushara is being honored as a White House Champion of Change for her leadership and commitment to libraries and museums around the United States.

Posted by Katherine Elmer-DeWitt, Academy for Global Citizenship on June 18, 2013

Breakfast is a beautiful time at the Academy for Global Citizenship, and it’s a window into what makes my school special. At AGC, faculty and parent volunteers buzz around the cafeteria as students fill their bodies with brain fuel such as vanilla spiced oatmeal, whole grain French toast topped with fresh fruit, crunchy quinoa, or organic free-range eggs.

Last week, President Obama welcomed WNBA Champion Indiana Fever to the White House to honor the team and congratulate them on their victory. Following the formal event with the President, Indiana Fever players led a Let’s Move! basketball clinic on the South Lawn with forty children from a nearby YMCA program. This visit continued the tradition begun by President Obama of honoring sports teams for their efforts to give back to communities as part of their trip to Washington.

Today is National Eat Your Vegetables Day and that means that it’s time to veg out. No, not on your couch—in your kitchen!
Vegetables give your body the nutrients you need to be healthy and strong. Not only that, but they taste delicious and can be prepared in many different ways. Whether they are raw or cooked; fresh, frozen, canned, or dried/dehydrated; or whole, cut-up, or mashed, it’s incredibly easy to incorporate vegetables into snacks and at mealtime. Here are some tips for enjoying veggies at their best:

Posted by Persis Sosiak, Senior Director, Public Health and Research, Cleveland Clinic on June 12, 2013

Here at Cleveland Clinic, we are proud to be a leader in the movement to ensure all young people grow up healthy. We accomplish this goal by collaborating with other childhood health champions, like the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative and USDA’s MyPlate, to work with Ohio schools and community organizations to incorporate nutrition and health lessons into kids’ everyday activities.

Ed Note: This is a cross post from the blog of cncs.gov. You can find the original post here.
The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) kicked off its national Let’s Read. Let’s Move. summer initiative by joining the Junior League of Washington (JLW) to give away the first of more than 15,000 books to DC Public School (DCPS) students on Wednesday, May 29, 2013.
Wendy Spencer, CEO of CNCS, was joined by JLW President Wendy Cumberland, National Football League player Visanthe Shiancoe, NFL Players Association representative Joe Briggs, Junior League volunteers, and AmeriCorps members from DC SCORES and City Year. During the fun-filled afternoon, second-grade classes at Garfield Elementary School in Washington, DC, learned about healthy play and exercise with volunteers, read together in groups, and choose four books to take home and read during the summer.

This week marks the second anniversary of USDA’s MyPlate, the food icon that reminds us to build a healthy plate with vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, and fat-free or low-fat dairy at every meal. MyPlate and its partners have been celebrating My Plate’s Birthday all week and today, First Lady Michelle Obama joined in the fun, pulling together some of her favorite MyPlate-inspired dishes to be featured on the My Plate Recipes Pinterest board.
First Lady Michelle Obama choose dishes that are tasty, easy to make, and nutritious. Dishes include dinner entrees to salads to refreshing desserts. Check them out and tell us what you like best with the hashtag #MyPlateBirthday.

To become a champion, it is important to be active, stay fit, and eat healthy. Today we caught up with members of the Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens who were at the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl win earlier this year and asked them to share their favorite off-season workouts, summertime healthy foods and why it's important to stay fit and be active. Check out what they had to say below:

This morning on the National Mall, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis, and Let’s Move! Executive Director Sam Kass joined executives and chefs of major concessioners to announce that visitors will have additional choices for purchasing healthy, nutritious food at national parks across the country.
“Our national parks are renowned around the world for their breathtaking landscapes and important cultural and historical sites,” Secretary Jewell said. “Today, as part of the administration’s efforts to promote healthier choices, we are adding yet another reason to visit our national parks and increasing the number of healthy food options available to visitors at parks from coast to coast.”
Through the Healthy Parks, Healthy People initiative, Director Jarvis issued healthy food standards and sustainable food guidelines that will increase the number of menu items available at more than 250 food and beverage operations in national parks.

Time flies when you are eating healthy! June 2nd marks the second anniversary of MyPlate, the food icon that reminds us to build a healthy plate with vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, and fat-free or low-fat dairy at every meal. MyPlate is one of the easiest ways to learn about healthy eating. It's a friendly image for parents and kids to look at and recognize how to pile up their own plate. As First Lady Michelle Obama says:

Now that summer is almost here, it is the perfect time to get outside and celebrate our country's magnificent landscapes, waterways and historical sites. In cities and towns across the country, public lands and waters provide unparalleled opportunities for affordable, family-friendly recreation. From rugged trails to urban rivers, and from sandy coastlines to rolling battlefields, these places are meant to be explored and enjoyed by all!

On Tuesday, First Lady Michelle Obama joined school children from across the country to harvest the summer crop from the White House Kitchen Garden. For this harvest, the First Lady invited children from two New Jersey communities that were affected by Hurricane Sandy. The First Lady also invited back all the children who helped plant the garden in April so they could see the fruits of their labors.
After picking the vegetables from the garden, White House chefs prepared a salad with spring garden lettuce, snap peas, radishes, and White House honey vinaigrette dressing, and grilled vegetable flatbread.
White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford shared the recipes for the salad and grilled vegetable flatbread with Let’s Move!: